In his first season with the Detroit Pistons, John Collins could give the squad a few new dimensions on offense
Perhaps more so than at the entry point for last season, the Detroit Pistons have a handful of questions surrounding the organization. Of course, the contract status of 22-year old All-Star Jalen Duren is chiefly among those concerns, but the Pistons are also welcoming five veterans and two rookies onto the squad after an active, turnover-filled offseason.
In order to make space for all those new players, the Pistons had to trade away Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser while letting Tobias Harris walk in free agency, so the Detroit jersey will rest on some new shoulders during the 2026-27 season. As for their replacements, the contingent of Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince, Elijah Harkless and Gary Harris should all add some perimeter gravity and scoring from downtown, but it is John Collins who figures to make the largest impact as a prospective starter at the four in Motown.
As a 6-9 veteran of the league for nine seasons, Collins posted more than 13 points and five rebounds per game in a more reserved albeit often-starting role for the Los Angeles Clippers last season. Offensively, the Clips prioritized other players within their system, so Collins did not have a chance to make his usual impact and certainly not the one he’s expected to have in Motown. However, the Wake Forest product was still highly effective from the mid-range, which was considered to be Harris’ old office.
In recent weeks, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon alluded to the possibility that Collins could even serve as a center at times when the Pistons opt for a smaller, floor-spacing lineup. As a shooter, Collins has surpassed the 40% three-point threshold multiple times in his career including last year, so that range would open up a lot of offensive possibilities for Detroit.
While Jalen Duren boasted an impressive 65% field goal rate last year, the Pistons didn’t trust the big man deploy many long twos, and he certainly wasn’t an option from beyond the arc either. Collins, on the other hand, can stretch the floor and punish teams from downtown, so Detroit could field up to five competent shooters on the court at one time with this potential lineup. That possibility would have been a mirage last season, but it’s another option for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to consider after flexing to a small-ball lineup in the Eastern Conference Semifinals back in May.
If Collins were to slide to the five, the Pistons still need to find a clear answer for who would be the acting power forward in that arrangement. Ron Holland II has the defensive aptitude to match up with bigs down low, but he would serve as a non-shooter on the other end, which takes away from this shooting-based leverage.
Taking that into consideration, Prince at 6-6 and 218 pounds could handle spot duty at the four while still giving Detroit an edge from the perimeter on offense after hitting triples at a 43% clip for two consecutive seasons. Although Prince would be slightly undersized when matched onto conventional big men, the 10-year vet is crafty enough to hold his own defensively.
From a depth standpoint, both Tolu Smith and Isaac Jones could feasibly play power forward in this arrangement, but that wouldn’t make as much sense as Prince if the Pistons were aiming for a five-man lineup of dangerous shooters.
